The Statue of Unity which ranks as the tallest statue in the world is located on the River Island called Sadhu Bet near Rajpipla, Gujarat. The statue was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on the 31st of October, 2018.
Designed as the memorial to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (popularly dubbed as the Iron Man of India), was the first Deputy Prime minister of India. Patel was the founding father of India, who played a leading role in the country’s struggle for independence and guided its integration into a united and independent nation. Patel was widely recognized as an activist and a freedom fighter who fought rigorously for the freedom of Indians.
Here are some of the very interesting facts about the statue of Unity:
1. Larsen and Toubro Ltd, which designed and executed the project deployed a team of over 3000 workers and 250 engineers and had the project completed in a record time of 33 months. At 182 meters, the statue of liberty is 23 meters taller than China’s Spring temple and almost double the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US. It is expected to be a major tourist destination in Gujarat.
2. The statue is also designed in such a way that it can withstand wind velocity of up to 60m/s, and earthquakes measuring up to 6.5 on the Richter scale making it an exceptionally stable structure.
3. The statue however, is assumed to be weakest at its base as a result of the walking pose of Sardar Patel, which resulted in a gap of 21 feet between the two legs.
4. The project was first announced on the 7th of October, 2010 and the construction of the statue started on the 31st of October, 2013. The project which costed 420 million USD, was fully funded by the Gujarat government.
5. The statue provoked a lot of criticism from the populace who felt that the huge amount of money spent on the statue should have been spent on the country’s crippling economy.
6. Officials however are of the opinion that nearly 15,000 direct jobs will be generated for the tribal people every year from the project.
7. The viewing gallery for the statue, at 153 meters is believed to be able to accommodate 200 people at a time and offer an expansive view of the Sardar Sarovar Dam.
8. The monument on the first two days of its inauguration had over 50,000 people visiting the site and admiring the wonderful feat.
9. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET), a special purpose vehicle set up by Modi in 2011, arranged some 129 tonnes of iron implements from nearly 100 million farmers in 169,000 villages across all states to construct the base of the statue in the 'Loha' campaign.
10. The statue of unity is a colossal figure in India despite all the controversies surrounding its construction. The government are of the opinion that the ability of the statue to attract visitors from all over the world will be a source of immense revenue generation to the state of India.
